Snowball Gun Toy

ABSTRACT

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a snowball gun toy, for throwing snowballs, the gun comprising: at least one barrel ( 22 ); a magazine ( 28 ) having a plurality of snowball chambers ( 30   i ) in which snowballs ( 40   i ) are disposed in order to be fired from the gun, the magazine being rotatable such that each of the chambers, separately, can be positioned to coincide with the barrel; a piston ( 38 ), for pushing the snowball present in the snowball chamber ( 30 ) that coincides with the barrel ( 22 ); a propelling mechanism, for propelling the piston ( 38 ); a cocking mechanism, for cocking the propelling mechanism; and a triggering mechanism employing a trigger ( 14 ), for releasing the propelling mechanism, thereby pushing the snowball ( 40 ) out of the barrel; and a rotating mechanism, for rotating the magazine ( 28 ) to place the next snowball chamber ( 30 ) to coincide with the barrel ( 22 ).

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/222,122, filed Jul. 1, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of toys. More particularly, the invention relates to a snowball gun toy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Snow is a source of fun for children as well as for adults. As such, there is a long felt need for innovative snow toys.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The term snowball refers herein to a snow chunk, to be fired from a gun. Thus, the term snowball gun refers herein to a gun for firing/throwing snowballs.

In one aspect, the present invention is directed to a snowball gun toy, for firing snowballs, the gun comprising:

-   -   at least one barrel (22);         -   a magazine (28) having a plurality of snowball chambers (30             i) in which snowballs (40 i) are disposed in order to be             fired, the magazine being rotatable such that each of the             chambers, separately, can be positioned to coincide with the             barrel(s);         -   a piston (38), for pushing the snowball present in the             snowball chamber (30) that coincides with the barrel(s)             (22);         -   a propelling mechanism, for propelling the piston (38);         -   a cocking mechanism, for cocking the propelling mechanism;             and         -   a triggering mechanism employing a trigger (14), for             releasing the propelling mechanism, thereby pushing the             snowball (40) out of the barrel(s); and         -   a rotating mechanism, for rotating the magazine (28) to             place the next snowball chamber (30) to coincide with the             barrel(s) (22).

According to one embodiment of the invention, the propelling mechanism employs a spring (34), for propelling the piston. According to another embodiment of the invention, the propelling mechanism employs a rubber band, for propelling the piston.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cocking mechanism comprises:

-   -   a handle (16) attached to the piston (38), for pulling the         spring (34);         -   a depression (32) in an object (rod 26) attached to the             piston (38), for hooking the piston to a ledge (36) attached             to the trigger (14).

The gun may further comprise a magazine house (18), for preventing snowballs (40 i) present in the chambers (30 i) of the magazine (28) from dropping out of the magazine.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the rotating mechanism is adapted to rotate the magazine (28) by employing mechanical force by a user thereof.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the rotating mechanism comprises a motor (20) for rotating the magazine (28). The motor is activated to place the next snowball chamber (30) to coincide with the barrel(s) (i.e., in shooting position) by a limit switch (not illustrated) sensing when the gun is being cocked.

The gun may further comprise one or more gripping handles (12, 12′), for holding the gun while shooting.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the magazine (28) is separable from the gun.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the gun is adapted such that the rotation mechanism is activated automatically after firing a snowball.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the gun is adapted such that the rotation mechanism is activated automatically after cocking the gun.

The gun may further comprise a selector (48), for selecting an operating mode.

Preferably, the diameter of the magazine chambers is about 60 mm, and the cylinder length is also about 60 mm. Thus, preferably, the magazine comprises five snowball chambers.

Preferably, the propelling mechanism is adapted to launch a snowball at a speed that is about the same as the speed of a snowball thrown by a human individual, thereby not jeopardizing the target.

The reference numbers have been used to point out elements in the embodiments described and illustrated herein, in order to facilitate the understanding of the invention. They are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting. Also, the foregoing embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated in conjunction with systems and methods thereof, which are meant to be merely illustrative, and not limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments and features of the present invention are described herein in conjunction with the following drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view pictorially illustrating a snowball gun, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a back view pictorially illustrating a snowball gun of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 pictorially illustrates the snowball gun of FIG. 1, in which its magazine house 18 is open, and its magazine is separated from the house 18 thereof.

FIG. 4 is a sectioned view of the snowball gun of FIG. 1, which illustrates the throwing mechanism.

Each of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b is a side-sectioned view of a snowball gun according to one embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 5 a the gun is cocked. FIG. 5 b illustrates the gun after firing.

It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention will be understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which are meant to be descriptive and not limiting. For the sake of brevity, some well-known features, methods, systems, procedures, components, circuits, and so on, are not described in detail.

One of the ways in which players amuse themselves in snow is throwing snowballs, one at the other, throwing snowballs at targets, objects, and so on.

The present invention is directed to a snow gun, which allows firing snow chunks towards an object such as a human individual, in a manner that does not jeopardize the object.

As mentioned above, the term snowball refers herein to a snow chunk, to be fired by a gun, and the term snowball gun refers herein to a gun for firing/throwing snowballs(s).

FIG. 1 is a front view pictorially illustrating a snowball gun, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a back view pictorially illustrating a snowball gun of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 pictorially illustrates the snowball gun of FIG. 1, in which its magazine house 18 is open, and its magazine is separated from the house 18 thereof.

FIG. 4 is a sectioned view of the snowball gun of FIG. 1, which illustrates the throwing mechanism.

Each of FIGS. 5 a and 5 b is a side-sectioned view of a snowball gun according to one embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 5 a the gun is cocked. FIG. 5 b illustrates the gun after firing.

The snowball gun is marked herein by reference numeral 10. The outlook of the snowball gun illustrated in the figures herein is reminiscent of a Tommy gun, although the snowball gun fires single snowballs.

The user may use one or two gripping handles (12 and 12′) to hold the gun while firing, i.e., throwing snowballs.

In order to carry out a shot, the user thereof has to fill the magazine chambers with snow. He also may compress the snow in the magazine's chambers. Then he must pull cocking handle 16 backwards, thereby cocking a spring 34, until it is hooked at the end of the move. Handle 16 is connected to a piston 38. This mechanism is detailed in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b. Upon pulling trigger 14, the spring is released, thereby pushing a piston 38 into barrel 22 of the gun, resulting in propulsion of the snowball.

Spring 34 may be replaced by a rubber band, and so on.

After the shot has been carried out, the user pulls handle 16 again, i.e., cocks the gun. In this situation, the user rotates knob 50, attached to magazine 28, until the next chamber coincides with the gun's barrel.

The Shooting Mechanism

The basic structure of the shooting mechanism comprises:

-   -   A barrel 22, through which a snowball passes when being shot,         thereby directing the snowball towards a target.         -   Snowballs chambers 30 i, in which snowballs are disposed.             The inner side of each snowball chamber is about the same             size as the size of the inner side of the barrel. In order             to be able to shoot, a snowball chamber has to be disposed             in a shooting position, i.e., subsequently to the barrel             such that the inner side of the barrel coincides with the             inner side of the snowball chamber, thereby allowing the             snowball present inside the snowball chamber to pass to the             barrel.         -   A piston 38, for pushing the snowball present in the             snowball chamber, through the barrel, then out of the             barrel.         -   A propelling mechanism, for propelling the piston, thereby             pushing the snowball out of the barrel. In the illustrated             embodiment, the propelling mechanism is based on spring 34.         -   A cocking mechanism, for cocking the propelling mechanism;             and         -   a triggering mechanism employing a trigger 14, for releasing             the propelling mechanism from its cocked state, thereby             pushing the snowball present in the snowball chamber that             coincides with the barrel out of the barrel.

Thus, the snowballs are actually in the form of a cylinder.

As per the cocking mechanism, in the illustrated embodiment, the cocking mechanism comprises handle 16 connected to piston 38, and a hooking mechanism, for retaining the propelling mechanism, including the piston, cocked until released. More particularly to this embodiment, by pulling handle 16, spring 34 is tensed. Rod 26 is attached to the piston. The rod comprises a depression 32 at the end thereof. When handle 16 is pulled backwards, at a certain point ledge 36 meets depression 32, as illustrated in FIG. 5 a, thereby hooking the rod, which means retaining the gun cocked. Upon pulling trigger 14, ledge 36 separates from depression 32, thereby releasing the piston, which consequently moves as spring 34 is released, thereby firing snowball 40.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, the gun comprises a plurality of barrels. Of course, in this case the gun must be adapted to use a plurality of barrels.

The Magazine

In a further embodiment, the snowball gun comprises a magazine, which allows loading a plurality of bullets, rather than loading a single bullet each time.

The magazine is marked herein by reference numeral 28. The magazine is in the form of a cylinder, having a plurality of bullet chambers 30 i therein. The magazine is installed in the gun such that the rotation axis 54 of the magazine is parallel to the barrel's symmetry axis 52, such that by rotating the magazine around its rotation axis 54, at a certain point the inner side of a bullet chamber 30 i coincides with the inner side of barrel 22.

In order to refill the magazine with snowballs, according to one embodiment of the invention, the user takes the magazine out of the gun, fills the snowball chambers with snow, and puts the magazine back into the gun. According to another embodiment of the invention, the magazine is not separable. In this case, the user opens the magazine house, fills the exposed chambers with snow, and rotates the magazine in order to fill the other chambers with snow.

In the case of a separable magazine, a user may load several magazines in advance, thereby “shortening” the time required for replacing a magazine.

After a snowball is fired, a rotating mechanism is used for rotating the magazine until the next bullet chamber coincides with the barrel. The rotating mechanism may be based on electric motor 20 that rotates the magazine, or on mechanical elements, such as a handle or knob 50.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the rotating mechanism comprises a knob 50, attached to magazine 28. Thus, by rotating knob 50, the magazine is also rotated. The user may indicate that the next bullet chamber coincides with the barrel by well known mechanisms therefor, a ball pushed by a spring towards a depression.

In an electric-driven rotating mechanism, the indication when a bullet chamber coincides with the barrel can be obtained by switches, and the like. Such mechanisms are also well known in the art.

In order to prevent snow from falling out of the bullet chambers of the magazine, a magazine house 18 can be used.

As mentioned above, in order to carry out a shot, a user thereof pulls cocking handle 16 backwards, thereby cocking a spring 34, until being hooked by a hooking mechanism. Upon pulling trigger 14, the hooking mechanism releases the spring, thereby allowing the spring to push piston 38 outwards. The relatively fast motion of the piston pushes the snowball out of barrel 22, i.e., the snowball is fired.

The characteristics of spring 34 in comparison to the size of the snowballs determine the shooting speed. Thus, the gun can be designed such that the shot would not jeopardize the target. Experiments carried out by the inventor of the present invention have shown that a snowball of about 60 mm diameter and about 60 mm length provides a projectile that leaves the barrel as a chunk, i.e., does not spread. Preferably, the propelling mechanism is adapted to launch a snowball at a speed that is about the same as the speed of a snowball thrown by a human individual, thereby not jeopardizing the target.

After firing a snowball, the magazine must be rotated until the next snowball chamber coincides with the barrel. Activating the rotation may be carried out in an automatic manner, i.e., consequently other action. For example, when using the electric motor for rotating the magazine, upon pulling handle 16, a switch closes a circuit that activates the magazine's rotation. The same effect may be obtained by mechanical means, such as in a revolver.

When the magazine rotation mechanism is rotated by electric power, the batteries 44 thereof may be stored in the guns' handle 12, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

In the figures and/or description herein, the following reference numerals have been mentioned:

-   -   numeral 10 denotes a snowball gun toy;         -   numeral 12 denotes a gripping handle;         -   numeral 12′ denotes a gripping handle;         -   numeral 14 denotes a trigger;         -   numeral 16 denotes a cocking handle;         -   numeral 18 denotes a magazine house;         -   numeral 20 denotes an electric motor;         -   numeral 22 denotes a barrel;         -   numeral 24 denotes a hinge connecting the two parts of             magazine house 18;         -   numeral 26 denotes a rod mounted on the piston, the end of             which comprises a bore, used as a hooking point;         -   numeral 28 denotes a snowball gun magazine;         -   each of numerals 30, 30 i denotes a bullet chamber;         -   numeral 32 denotes a depression in an object (rod 26)             attached to piston 38;         -   numeral 34 denotes a spring;         -   numeral 36 denotes a ledge (corresponding to depression 32)             attached to trigger 14;         -   numeral 38 denotes a piston;         -   numeral 40, 40 i denotes a snowball;         -   numeral 44 denotes a battery;         -   numeral 48 denotes a selector, for selecting an operating             mode, such as mechanical/electric rotation of magazine 28;         -   numeral 50 denotes a knob, for rotating magazine 28;         -   numeral 52 denotes the barrel's symmetry axis; and         -   numeral 54 denotes the magazine's rotation axis.

The foregoing description and illustrations of the embodiments of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the above description in any form.

Any term that has been defined above and used in the claims, should to be interpreted according to this definition.

The reference numbers in the claims are not a part of the claims, but rather used for facilitating the reading thereof. These reference numbers should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any form. 

1. A snowball gun toy, for throwing snowballs, the gun comprising: at least one barrel (22); a magazine (28) having a plurality of snowball chambers (30 i) in which snowballs (40 i) are disposed in order to be fired, said magazine being rotatable such that each of said chambers, separately, can be positioned to coincide with said at least one barrel; a piston (38), for pushing the snowball present in the snowball chamber (30) that coincides with said at least one barrel (22); a propelling mechanism, for propelling said piston (38); a cocking mechanism, for cocking said propelling mechanism; and a triggering mechanism employing a trigger (14), for releasing said propelling mechanism, thereby pushing said snowball (40) out of said at least one barrel; and a rotating mechanism, for rotating said magazine (28) to place the next snowball chamber (30) to coincide with said at least one barrel (22).
 2. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said propelling mechanism employs a spring (34), for propelling said piston.
 3. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said propelling mechanism employs a rubber band, for propelling said piston.
 4. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said cocking mechanism comprises: a handle (16) attached to said piston (38), for pulling said spring (34); a depression (32) in an object (rod 26) attached to said piston (38), for hooking said piston to a ledge (36) attached to said trigger (14).
 5. A toy according to claim 1, further comprising a magazine house (18), for preventing snowballs (40 i) present in the chambers (30 i) of said magazine (28) from dropping out of said magazine (28).
 6. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said rotating mechanism is adapted to rotate said magazine (28) by employing mechanical force by a user thereof.
 7. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said rotating mechanism comprises a motor (20) for rotating said magazine (28).
 8. A toy according to claim 7, wherein said motor is activated to place the next snowball chamber (30) to coincide with said at least one barrel (i.e., in shooting position) by a limit switch (not illustrated) sensing when said gun is being cocked.
 9. A toy according to claim 1, further comprising one or more gripping handles (12, 12′), for holding said gun while shooting.
 10. A toy according to claim 1, wherein the said magazine (28) is separable.
 11. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said gun is adapted such that said rotation mechanism is activated automatically after firing a snowball.
 12. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said gun is adapted such that said rotation mechanism is activated automatically after cocking the gun.
 13. A toy according to claim 1, further comprising a selector (48), for selecting an operating mode.
 14. A toy according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of said magazine chambers is about 60 mm, and the length thereof is about 60 mm.
 15. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said propelling mechanism is adapted to launch a snowball at a speed that is about the same as that of a snowball thrown by a human individual, thereby not jeopardizing the target.
 16. A toy according to claim 1, wherein said magazine comprises five snowball chambers. 